•In a first-of-its-kind ceremony, the government spent Sh100 million to reward both active and retired Kenya's sports and artistic legends.
•Sports Cabinet Secretary, Ababu Namwamba, rewarded the athletes during the inaugural Cabinet Secretary's Champions reception at Safari Park Hotel on Friday.
Image: HANDOUT
It is heartening to learn that the government has finally created a program to honour legendary sports figures who have made the country proud on the international stage.
In a first-of-its-kind ceremony, the government spent Sh100 million to reward both active and retired Kenya's sports and artistic legends.
Sports Cabinet Secretary, Ababu Namwamba, rewarded the athletes during the inaugural Cabinet Secretary's Champions reception at Safari Park Hotel on Friday.
A total of 69 sports legends from athletics, football, cricket, rugby, motor rallying, volleyball, and Paralympics received a token of Sh50,000 each.
Headlining the star-studded cast of erstwhile champions who were venerated for their masterclass acts was Amos Biwott — the first African to storm the steeplechase title at the Olympics during the 1968 Mexico City Games.
Also acknowledged for his valiant effort in athletics was former marathon great Ibrahim Kipkemboi Hussein, now 65. Hussein penned a distinct chapter in history after clinching the Boston Marathon titles in 1988, 1991, and 1992 and was also the first Kenyan to win the New York City Marathon in 1987.
The current president of the National Olympics Committee of Kenya (NOCK) Paul Tergat was among those who stood out on the list of awardees.
He made the Hall of Fame after blazing to five world cross-country titles. Other former world beaters who comprised the list of honours were two-time world marathon champion Catherine Ndereba, and the 1998 Olympic 5,000m champion John Ngugi.
The CS also recognized Asim Karim, Kennedy Otieno, Maurice Odumbe, and Martin Suji who were part of the amazing Kenyan cricket team that graced the 2003 World Cup.
Rugby legend Edward Rombo and former Kenya Sevens rugby skippers Andrew Amonde and Humphrey Kayange were deservedly mentioned.
The gesture to honour Kenya’s leading sporting and creative talents, including legends in these fields, is a welcome relief. Over the decades, they have felt neglected despite their immense contributions.
Just last year, the athletics fraternity in the country plunged into mourning following the death of Kenya's first Olympic Games medalist, Wilson Kiprugut Chumo.
The legendary Kenyan sprints and middle-distance sensation breathed his last in Kericho County after a long illness. He was 84 years old at the time of his death.
Chumo wrote a new page in history by becoming the first African to win an Olympic medal when he won bronze in the 800 meters at the 1964 Tokyo Summer Games.
On October 20, legendary featherweight boxer Philip Waruinge died at the age of 77. He too had put Kenya on the world map during his reign in the ring.
Waruinge stormed to two gold medals at the 1966 and 1970 Commonwealth Games and a bronze medal at the 1968 Olympic Games in Mexico City.
In both cases, the athletes seemed to endure financial hardships in their twilight years despite the glory they brought to the nation.
Fortunately, other efforts are being made to hail legendary Kenyan athletes. Namwamba pledged to establish a sustainable framework for the welfare of our sportspeople and artists in retirement and adversity. In October last year, Athletics Kenya Chief Administrative Officer Susan Kamau called on Kenyan athletes to register for the pension scheme.
While emphasising AK's desire to protect retired athletes from financial problems caused by illness and old age, Kamau cited cases where athletes faced problems after retirement.
Indeed, local sports administrators ought to conceive ways of rewarding sports personalities who have made the country proud.